Day: December 30, 2010

There comes, perhaps, a point when there can be no further glossing over of it all. Upon the full-time whistle at Anfield this evening, Roy Hodgson looked defeated, and not just in terms of this particular football match. He was carrying the gaunt expression of a man that is surely now only living on borrowed time and it is difficult to imagine how this situation can resolve itself with any dignity for the manager. Returning home this evening, flicking through the newspapers tomorrow morning, some Liverpool supporters may look up the table to see how far they are from the Champions League places. Others may look down the table to see how far removed they are from the relegation positions. They are, of course, considerably closer to the latter than the former. It is also worth considering, however, that there are still eight teams below them in the table. Tonight, though, wasn’t entirely about Roy Hodgson. To suggest that he can be solely responsible for such a lifeless display from the team is over-stretching the potential of his powers somewhat and the Liverpool players themselves need to take a long, hard look at themselves and their attitudes this evening. The Wolves goal came eleven minutes into the second half, but Liverpool seldom so much as threatened the Wolves goal in the remaining thirty-five minutes or so of the match....